RESIDENTS are living in fear and are terrified to park their cars on the street because of selfish yobs plaguing their neighbourhood.
Locals on New George Street in Hull have had the tyres on their cars slashed by a group of knife-wielding men – and are now pleading for the campaign of terror to end.
3
3
The residents say that 37 cars have been vandalised – and the thugs keep returning on a nightly basis.
Despite police being informed, the reign of terror on the Hull street hasn’t stopped as locals were forced to pay hundreds in damages.
Some have struggled to take their kids to school or go to work due to the damages, while others are too frightened to park their cars in the area altogether.
Locals on New George Street have sung the praises of the area and are fond of their neighbours and the community – but now fear for their own safety.
The recent slashings started on May 19 in the early hours of the morning, but it isn’t the first time this has been an issue for some residents.
Tenants spotted three young men on the street popping the tyres at around 2am.
Sallah, a taxi driver who lives on the street, saw the boys and said: “I saw them down on the pavement with a knife popping the tyres.
“I then looked down the street and saw that nearly all of the cars on the street had flat tyres.
Most read in The Sun
“I chased after them to Jubilee Square while others called the police, but they were armed. The police didn’t arrive for another 40 minutes, even though we told them that they had weapons.”
Residents estimate that thousands of pounds worth of damage was done to the cars on the street and hoped that their CCTV footage would be enough to catch the boys.
However, the tormentors returned again the next night to cause more havoc.
Resident Molly Bell said: “I first had my tyres slashed in December last year and I thought it was personal because other cars hadn’t been vandalised at that point.
“I had them replaced and the same thing happened in February, then more recently I’ve had two tyres popped in May.
“It got to the point where I was too scared to park my car outside my house so would take it to my family member’s house in Willerby.
“I’ve had to walk home with all my shopping because I can’t drive in fear of having to pay to have my tyres replaced yet again. That’s not the only thing those boys have been up to either.
LIVING IN FEAR
“I was woken up to the sound of shouting and banging on windows and doors.
“Early in the morning, the young men had returned but this time they were knocking over all the bins in the street so that rubbish was strewn everywhere.
“They were screaming ‘come on do something!’ whilst they were doing it, so I would say they are very confrontational and scary people.
“There are lots of kids and disabled people on this street and it’s usually very quiet and nice area, but it’s so dangerous now.”
Another local added: “We have the names and addresses of the boys who we think did it, which we have handed to police, but still no arrests have been made.
“The police have told us to not put ourselves in harm’s way but encourage us to film the suspects where we can.
“The young men have been up on someone’s balcony stealing a bike, they’ve smashed a flat window, they have hammered nails into my neighbour’s tyres – how much longer until they’re in our houses?
“Sallah has chased after them and put himself at risk but he thinks it’s the only way of catching them and putting a stop to all of this.
“You can bet that Sallah would be the one to get in trouble as well for going after them.
“How can the police just expect residents to sit back and let this happen?
“I couldn’t go to work or drop my kids off at school because of the flat tyres on my car and a neighbour had to offer to give us lifts. There are also taxi drivers down this street who make a living from using their cars who are losing business.
“Thousands of pounds are having to be paid from our own pockets and they just keep returning.
“We’ve begged for a police car to be parked on the street overnight for a bit of protection but it hasn’t happened – we just can’t take it anymore.”
The Tyre Shop, a business located around the corner from New George Street, confirmed that they had had at least seven or eight residents come into the shop for tyre repairs.
THUGS’ TERROR
On police advice, they gave receipts to the customers to keep track of how many people have been affected.
A Humberside Police spokesman said: “Investigations are underway following reports that a number of tyres were damaged on vehicles down New George Street in Hull early on the morning of Thursday, May 19.
“It was reported that three men travelled down the street damaging tyres with a knife.
“They were challenged by a car owner and reportedly fled the area. Officers were deployed and carried out a full and thorough search of the area however the suspects were not located.”
Local Neighbourhood Inspector Caroline Andrews said: “Firstly it is important to say that we believe this to be an isolated incident with no specific target.
“We have carried out a number of investigations since the incident, including speaking to witnesses and reviewing CCTV from the area, and these enquiries are continuing.
“As part of this, we have officers in the area and I would encourage anyone with any concerns to stop and speak to them.
“I urge anyone with information about the incident or those responsible to get in touch, either by calling our non-emergency 101 line quoting log 44 of 19 May or anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
3
Crime on New George Street, Hull
According to StreetCheck, there were 192 crimes committed on or near New George Street in March 2022 alone.
The majority of the crimes were related to violence and sexual violence, followed by possession of weapons, anti-social behaviour, criminal damage and arson.
